THAT to which the "much tribulation" leads us, is A KINGDOM. Acts xiv, 22. It is to this that it ministers an "abundant entrance," [2 Pet. i, 11.] an entrance in itself not joyous indeed, but grievous, yet in its issues glorious.
Hitherto it has been midnight and the wilderness; ere long it shall be MORNING AND THE KINGDOM. For it is "in the morning" that the righteous are to "have dominion." Ps. xlix, 14. Just as the night has been the time of down-treading, and "wearing out," so the morning is the time of having dominion, the time of "bringing judgment to light." Zeph. iii, 5. When "the Just One shall rule over men," he shall be "as the light of the morning when the sun riseth, a morning without clouds." 2 Sam. xxiii, 3, 4. The time when the Lord shall help, is when the morning appeareth; [Ps. xlvi, 5, margin;] at evening-tide there is trouble, but before the morning he is not. Isa. xvii, 14. The reign of Antichrist is over, and the reign of Christ begins. The kingdom of the11unrighteous is broken to pieces, and the kingdom of the righteous rises in its stead. Lucifer, the mock light bringer, the false son of the morning, vanishes from the heavens, and the true light, the bright and morning-star, takes his place in the firmament, unclouded and unsettling in his glory. The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, is given to the people of the saints of the Most High. Dan. vii, 27. The church's weary burden is no longer, How long, O Lord, but The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice! Ps. xcvii, 1. Her prayer, thy kingdom come, is exchanged for the thanksgiving of the great voices in heaven. The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art and wast, and art to come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned; Alleluia, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Rev. xi, 15; xix, 6.
That to which we are hastening on is not merely an inheritance, but a royal inheritance—a kingdom. That for which we suffer is a crown. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. As we have been truly fellow-sufferers, we shall be as truly fellow-reigners. The suffering has been real, and so shall the reigning be. This is the recompense of reward to which we have respect when we choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Heb. xi, 25. This is the better and the enduring substance, for which we are willing to endure the great fight of afflictions. Heb. x, 32, 34. This is the summing up of earth's toil and grief—the issue of a life-time's conflict with weariness, and wrong, and sin.
To think of trial as a preparation for the kingdom is much; but to look at it as an entrance into it is more. At the end of time's dark avenue stands the mansion-house, the palace! At the edge of our desert-track lies the kingdom! The avenue may be rugged under foot, thorny on every side, and gloomy over head; the wilderness may be waste and howling; yet they are passages—entrances; they are not interminable, and their end is gladness. They usher us into a state which will, in a moment, efface the bitter past, so that it shall not once be remembered nor come into mind. Thus, though in one aspect tribulation seems a path or gate-way fenced with the brier, and hard to fight through; yet in another it is the conqueror's triumphal arch under which we pass into the kingdom; so that while passing through we can sing the song of him who long ago went this way before us: I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. Rom. viii, 18.
The thought of the kingdom cheers us, and the stray gleams of it which faith gives us are like the lattice-lights of a loved dwelling, sparkling through the thicket, to the weary eye of a benighted wanderer. Yes, we are heirs of nothing less than a kingdom, however unlike such we may seem at present, and however ambitious it may be reckoned to claim so much, and to aspire so high. Robes of royalty shall soon cover all our unseemliness; and beneath the glory of a throne we shall bury all our poverty, and shame, and grief.
But this is not all. The varied excellencies of that kingdom, as made known to us by prophets and apostles, are such as specially to meet our case, and contrast with our present condition. This fitness—this contrast makes the thoughts of the kingdom doubly precious and consoling.
1. It is the kingdom of God.1 Cor. vi, 9. Man's kingdoms have passed away—those kingdoms under which the saints of God have been trodden down. And now all that is man's is gone, and nothing remains but what is God's! The glory of the kingdom is this, that it is altogether God's. It must, then, be perfect and blessed—wholly unlike any thing that these eyes of ours have seen. If it were but a reformation of human kingdoms, if it were a mere change of dynasty, the prospect of it would be but doubtful comfort; but it is an entire passing away of the old, and a making all things new. It is the return of God to his own world—and oh, what will not that return effect for us! His re-enthronement is what we desire; for it is this alone that gives us the assurance of perpetuity and stability, against which no enemy shall prevail. It was to that re-enthronement that Jesus looked forward when about to ascend the cross, and of which he spoke twice over at the paschal-table; [Luke xxii, 16, 18;] as if this were the joy set before him, because of which he endured the cross, despising the shame. Heb. xii, 2. It is that re-enthronement that we also anticipate as the day of our triumph, for then shall we shine as the sun in the kingdom of our Father. Matt. xiii, 43.
2. It is the kingdom of Christ.Col. i, 13. This assures that we shall feel at home there. It is no stranger who is to seat us on the throne beside him; but our nearest of kin—the Man who died for us. It is the pierced hands that shall wield the sceptre. This meets our case. For we are strangers here, specially feeling not at home in the courts and palaces of earth. But then it shall be otherwise. Here we are as men standing outside the kingdoms of the world. They belong to the prince of this world, but not to Christ, and therefore not to us. They greet us with no friendly welcome. They have no honors for us. They make us stand without. They are to us what Pilate, and Herod, and Annas were to Jesus; they bid us be wronged and smitten, or, at least, look on while we endure tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword. Much of the church's tribulation has arisen from the kingdoms of this world and being not Christ's. But in the age to come, it is Christ that is to reign, all things being put in subjection to him. He who is to reign knows what it is to be hated by the world, and knows, therefore, how to make up to us in his kingdom, for all the hatred wherewith we have been hated, for all the sorrow which has bowed us down while here. And such is obviously the point of Christ's declaration to his disciples. Luke xxii, 28, 30. For having said to them, "Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations," he adds, "and I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel;" thus linking together present suffering for Christ and future reigning with Christ—present continuance with him in trial, and future association with him in his own kingdom, when he returns to receive the crown.
3. It is a kingdom not of this world.John xviii, 36. The words, not of this world, are, literally, out of, or not taken out of, this world; just as when Christ says, "Ye are of this world, I am not of this world." John viii, 23. This world is wholly evil, and under the dominion of the evil one. Its territory is under a curse. It is called this present evil world. Gal. i, 4. It lieth in wickedness. 1 John v, 19. Its kingdoms are compared to hideous beasts of prey. Dan. vii. Satan and his hosts, the rulers of the darkness of this world. Eph. vi, 12. Thus every thing pertaining to it is unholy. Now, the kingdom to come is not fashioned out of its materials, so as to retain any thing of its likeness. Between the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of the world to come, there is no congeniality or resemblance. Of this world it is said, that it rejects the Spirit, nay, it cannot receive him; [John xiv, 17;] but that world is to be full of the Spirit, for the Spirit is to be poured from on high, and the wilderness is to become a fruitful field. Isa. xxxii, 15. Of this world Satan is king; of that world Christ is King. This world knows not God, neither the Father nor the Son; but in that world all shall know him, from the least unto the greatest. In this world all is darkness; in that world all is light. This world is to be fought against and overcome; that world is to be loved and enjoyed. Thus the kingdom of which we are the heirs, is as unlike this world as Eden was unlike the wilderness. And it is this that makes it so desirable. Had it retained any fragments of this world's evil; had it been a mere re-construction of its carnal fabric; had it taken up into itself any of its corrupt qualities, then our comfort were but poor in anticipating its arrival, and counting on the exchange. But it is not of this world—and this is our joy. We have had enough of the world to make us long for the passing away; and to welcome a kingdom in which no taint or trace of it shall be found.
4. It is a righteous kingdom. The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, that is, not a carnal kingdom, made up of outward observances and sensual dainties, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost; that is, a righteous, peaceful, joyful kingdom, dwelt in and pervaded by the Holy Spirit, so that all belonging to it must be like itself. Rom. xiv, 17. It is a kingdom whose territory is the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 2 Pet. iii, 13. The unrighteous shall not inherit it; [1 Cor. vi, 9;] but the saints alone shall possess it. Dan. vii, 18. The sceptre of this kingdom is a righteous sceptre. Ps. xlv, 6. He who wields it is the righteous King; [Isa. xxxii, 1;] and in his days shall the righteous flourish. Ps. lxxii, 7. It is a crown of righteousness, that is laid up for us. 2 Tim. iv, 8. And then shall the work of righteousness be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Isa. xxxii, 17. The righteousness of this kingdom makes it unspeakably attractive to those who have been wearied out with the unrighteousness of an unrighteous world. The thought that the morning is to bring in that righteous kingdom, comforts us amid the clouds and thick darkness of this night of weeping.
5. It is a kingdom of peace. War has by that time run its course; its spears are broken and turned to ploughshares; strife and hatred have fled. The storm has become a calm, and the vexed sea is still. Holy tranquility breathes over earth. The mountains bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness—there shall be abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. Ps. lxxii, 3-7; Upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, there shall be peace for ever from the Lord. 1 Kings ii, 33. Far more truly than in the days of Solomon there shall be peace on all sides round about; [1 Kings iv, 24;] yea, the Lord God will give rest on every side, so that there shall be neither adversary nor evil occurrence. 1 Kings v, 4. Every where shall be inscribed the motto upon Gideon's altar, Jehovah-Shalom. Judges vi, 24, margin. The beasts of the field shall be at peace with us; [Job v, 23;] for the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them; and the cow and the bear shall feed, their young ones shall lie down together. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. Isa. xi, 6. The groans of creation shall then be over, and its deliverance accomplished. All shall be peace; for the great peace-maker is come. His name is King of Salem, that is, King of peace. Heb. vii, 2. He is called the Prince of Peace, and of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end. Isa. ix, 6, 7.
With what longing hearts do we desire the arrival of that kingdom, so unlike what this troubled earth has yet known from the beginning hitherto. Each new sorrow stirs the longing. Each new conflict makes us glad at the thought that there is such a kingdom in reserve. Were it not for this, how we should fret because of evil doers; and how soon should our patience give way! But with our eye upon this kingdom of peace, we can glory in tribulation, we can drink the bitterest cup, we can face the thickest storm, we can endure the rudest clamor; and when the world's uproar waxes loudest we can lift up our heads, knowing that our redemption draweth nigh.
6. It is a kingdom that cannot be moved.Heb. xii, 28. All other kingdoms have not only been moved, but shaken to pieces. Great Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, has been a sand-wreath, raised by one tide, and levelled by the next. So have all others been, greater or lesser. One by one they have been overthrown and crushed, or they have crumbled down and become like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor. But the kingdom that we look for is the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Pet. i, 11. It abides forever. Neither force nor age can affect it. It rises out of the ruins of earth's present empires, though unlike them all. The things that can decay or moulder are shaken, in order that they may be shaken off, and that those things that cannot be shaken may remain. And thus there comes forth the immovable kingdom—the kingdom into which sin comes not; in which change has no place; into which the curse eats not; of which wisdom and holiness are the strong pillars; where misrule is unknown; where order triumphs; and of which the glory never dims. It is joy to us in such a world of instability and convulsion, to think of such a kingdom. Driven to and fro with the changes of the kingdoms we inhabit here; wearied with the falling and the rising, the casting down and the building up, we long for a kingdom that shall give us rest, a kingdom that cannot be moved. From this uncertainty and fickleness, how many of our griefs have come! For what is there so saddening, so sickening, as the thought that every inch of ground beneath us is sliding—that every prop on which we lean is breaking, that every twig to which we cling is snapping? As we draw our curtains around us, we know not what change, what loss, what sorrow shall greet us on the morrow. Or though going forth light-hearted and unburdened in the morning, we tremble to think what clouds may have gathered over our dwelling ere the evening is fallen. Such is the perishableness, the changeableness of earth and its kingdoms! What joy to look beyond them all, and see through their shadows the everlasting kingdom! Nay, to be assured that this kingdom is at hand, and that ere long He who is without variableness or shadow of turning, shall bid us welcome to its unchanging rest; and He who is the same yesterday, to-day and for ever, shall seat us upon the eternal throne.
Heaven, says an old writer, is a company of noble venturers for Christ; and we may add, of noble sufferers too. Of such is the kingdom of heaven! It is in that kingdom that we shall rest from our labors, and find the end of all our sufferings. We shall find that we have not ventured too much, nor labored too much, nor suffered too much. The glory of the kingdom will make up for all.12
Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Along with the King of glory, we shall take our place upon the throne, in that day when, after raising the poor out of the dust, he shall set them among princes, and make them to inherit the throne of glory; when the wicked shall be silent in darkness, and the adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; when the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth, giving strength unto his king, and exalting the horn of his anointed. 1 Sam. ii, 8-10.
Thy kingdom come! This is the burden of our cries. Weary of man's rule, we long for God's. Sick at heart with this world's scenes of evil—man spoiling man; man enslaving man; man wounding man; man defrauding man; man treading upon man;—we long for the setting up of the righteous throne. Oh, what a world will this be, when man's will as well as man's rule shall be exchanged for Christ's rule and will; when God's will shall be done on earth even as it is done in heaven!
It is our joy to think that this kingdom is near; and there are no centuries of sin and wrong still in reserve either for the church or for the earth. Its nearness is our consolation. The hope that it will come cheers us; but the thought that it is coming soon cheers us more. For both faith and hope are fed by the thought of nearness. We do not fret at delay, nor grow faint and disconsolate. Yet in some respects our feelings are not unlike those thus described by one of other days.
So tedious is this day,
As is the night before some festival
To an impatient child that hath new robes,
And may not wear them. . . .
Our bridal robes are ready, and we long to put them on. Our priestly-royal raiment is also ready, and we desire to exchange for it these weeds of poverty, and shame, and widowhood. Yet in patience we possess our souls.
We are on the daily out-look for a kingdom, lifting up our heads knowing that our redemption draweth nigh. It will not tarry. The signs of its approach are multiplying. The shadows are still passing and repassing along the grey cliffs, but their increasing rapidity of movement shows a momentous change at hand. Kingdoms are still rising as well as falling, but the deep force of the vibrations—the brevity as well as the abruptness of oscillation—betoken a crisis. At this crisis the world's movements are brought to a stand. Then, touched by a Divine hand, they re-commence. A better order of rule begins. Satan has been bound. Rev. xx, 1-3. The oppressor has ceased. Isa. xiv, 4. He who smote the people in wrath is smitten. Isa. xiv, 6. The misgoverned world rejoices. The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; they that dwell in it break forth into singing. Isa. xiv, 7. The anointed King has appeared. The great kingdom has come.—H. Bonar.